Sports

Brady and Patriots decisively assert themselves as AFC’s best -- for now

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) pumps his fist after a touchdown throw during the third quarter of New England's 43-21 win over the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium. (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)

For the third straight year, the regular-season Manning-Brady Bowl went to Brady.

As well as the Denver Broncos defence had been playing, especially its pass rush, they barely bothered Brady and the New England Patriots in Sunday’s marquee NFL game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Brady, 37, far outplayed Peyton Manning, 38, before garbage time began in the third quarter, as the Patriots won 43-21.

New England improved to 7-2, Denver fell to 6-2.

Brady completed 33 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns. Just as importantly he was intercepted only once -- the first time since September -- on a tipped ball, and was sacked but once for one yard.

The latter might be the most surprising statistic of the day.

It’s not that DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller -- the league’s leading sackmaster duo before the game, with 16 -- didn’t flush Brady from the pocket often enough.

What Brady showed perhaps better than in any big game in a long time was an ability to buy himself time in a collapsing or distressed pocket, all the while keeping focus downfield at his receiving options.

“He did a great job of keeping the play alive,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters afterward. “The longer the play extends, the more separation there is between the underneath level and the deep level … and Tom did a good job of hitting (the open receiver).”

New England led 27-7 at halftime -- thanks in part to smurf receiver Julian Edelman’s six catches for 66 yards and dazzling 84-yard punt-return touchdown -- and extended the lead to 37-14 midway through the third quarter, to more or less settle matters.

It wasn’t that Manning was bad. Hell, he finished with 438 yards and two touchdowns himself.

But as we saw in the Super Bowl, when Manning gets hit early, or even just nudged off his initial spot in the pocket, his deadly effectiveness plunges.

The Patriots seemed to make that a defensive priority. They sacked him only once but clearly bothered him and threw off the timing and comfort of Denver’s normally uber-lethal attack in the decisive opening half.

In the battle of the super tight ends, New England’s Rob Gronkowski owned Denver’s Julius Thomas. Gronk caught nine passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. He preceded his score with an incredible, twisting, falling, one-handed grab near the goal line.

“One of the best catches I’ve ever seen,” Brady said.

Thomas caught two passes for 33 yards, both in garbage time.

Leave it to Belichick to put all such numbers into perspective.

“It’s not about a bunch of stats -- stats this, and stats that,” he gruffed. “We’re not playing fantasy football here. We’re trying to win.”

And no team in the AFC is winning more impressively than Belichick’s Patriots.

REDSKINS CRASH: Never mind what happened on the way to the stadium. The whole day was one figurative bus crash for the Washington Redskins.

The team’s two buses crashed into one another on Sunday morning en route to TCF Bank Stadium in Minnesota, for the Skins’ game against the Vikings. No players, coaches or team officials were hurt, but one escorting law-enforcement officer was injured slightly.

Then the Redskins lost, 29-26, in quarterback Robert Griffin III’s return from a dislocated left ankle, which he suffered in Week 2.

Was the loss Griffin’s fault? No.

He couldn’t have been better to start, completing 6-of-6 for 103 yards on Washington’s first two drives that resulted in 10 points.

Even as the Vikings’ formidable pass rush kept roughing him up, Griffin kept his poise -- well, until the end.

He led the Redskins to a 20-14 lead by the end of the third quarter, then after falling behind 21-20 he completed all four of his passes for 70 yards on an 85-yard touchdown drive that gave the Skins a 26-21 lead with nine minutes left.

It was the defence that let the Redskins down. Whatever the hell coverages coordinator Jim Haslett was calling, Vikings receivers were breaking wide-freegin’ open all game long, and did so again on Minnesota’s winning 73-yard drive. Rookie Vikings passer Teddy Bridgewater inexplicably missed a lot of those receivers earlier, but hit them on this drive, which culminated in Matt Asiata’s third touchdown run of the game, with 3:27 left.

“We had the lead, let them drive 80 yards and score, we had the lead and let them drive 80 yards to score again.”

By that point, Griffin appeared rattled by the pass rush. He was sacked twice on the first six plays of Washington’s last desperation drive, scrambled for 14 yards on a 3rd-and-20, then showed his rust on the crucial 4th-and-6 play.

Griffin peeled himself away from another fast-penetrating Minnesota pass rush by rolling left. Not realizing he was in the clear, he needlessly backpedalled a couple of steps with itchy feet, wasn’t at all set or squared up, then threw in panicked, off-balanced fashion to receiver Pierre Garcon, open on a short crosser.

The pass skipped into his feet. Just a terrible move by Griffin.

Minnesota improved to 4-5, with a playoff pulse heading into its bye week.

Washington fell to 3-6, ending a strange week that began in Dallas on Monday night with a huge victory behind backup quarterback Colt McCoy.

Should Gruden have stuck with the hot-handed McCoy for at least one more game? Makes ya wonder.

ESPN reported Sunday morning that the decision to reinsert Griffin wasn’t even Gruden’s but rather “came from the top.” But Gruden said the call was his.

A separate pre-game ESPN report claimed Griffin had “alienated himself” from teammates -- not the first time that has been insinuated in RG3’s roller-coaster three years in the U.S. capitol.

FOUR-AND-FOUR 49ers: Two years ago this month, the St. Louis Rams tied the 49ers at San Francisco, concussing then starting Niners QB Alex Smith in the process.

Thus began the Colin Kaepernick era in the Bay Area.

Twenty-four months later, at least some Niners fans probably wish Smith was still around, and not starting for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kaepernick is proving indecisive and inaccurate when he doesn’t have ample time to throw. Which, lately, has been most of the time.

In Sunday’s dismal 13-10 homefield loss to the Rams, Kaepernick seldom had time to throw. He was sacked eight times, after being sacked six times two weeks ago in Denver.

The San Fran offensive line is an injury-riddled mess. And it’s taking its toll.

Yet the Niners still could have won this game. It came down to the last 10 seconds, when San Fran had a third-and-goal at the St. Louis one-yard line. Niners coaches called for a QB sneak -- going for the win instead of settling for an overtime-forcing tie.

The Rams defensive line at first stood firm. Kaepernick then got rammed from behind by a blocker and seemed to squirt between bodies and over the goal line for the winning touchdown.

But suddenly the Rams started celebrating. Linebacker James Laurinaitis had the ball. Officials conferred and awarded the ball to the Rams: a touchback with two seconds left. Kaepernick apparently fumbled before landing in the end zone.

TV reviews couldn’t confirm or deny, so the on-field call stood.

“I know I crossed the line,” Kaepernick said afterward, per Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

Kaepernick’s passing stats weren’t so bad -- 22-of-33 for 237 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. But the sacks kept killing drives and unsettling Kap enough to make bad decisions and bad throws throughout.

Kaepernick placed a chunk of the blame for the sacks on himself.

“That’s why I’m here -- to make plays regardless of the situation,” he said. “I have to be better back there.

“I’m here to make plays. I can make people miss. That’s part of my job.”

Just as bad as the sacks, the Niners running attack gained just 80 yards. This team, with Kaepernick at the helm, is not built to win when it runs for just 80 yards.

Until the O-line improves, the Niners are unlikely to improve. They fell to 4-4, now in serious peril to miss the post-season.

The defending Super Bowl champs needed to recover an onside kick in the final minute to prevent the now 0-8 Raiders and their rookie quarterback, Derek Carr, from having a chance to move half a field to win it at the end.

CHARGERS HAVE LOST THEIR CHARGE: No NFL team stinks it up in mid-season like the San Diego Chargers. For the fourth consecutive year, the Chargers have completely lost their charge upon reaching mid-October.

Over the past four seasons, San Diego is 3-17 from mid-October through the end of November.

And after Sunday’s splatter in Miami -- an embarrassing 37-0 loss to the Dolphins -- the Chargers this season are 0-3 since Oct. 15, losing by the combined score of 95-41.

It was the first time the Chargers had been shut out since 1999, ending the NFL’s third longest shutout-avoiding streak.

Sunday’s game was over at halftime. The Dolphins led 20-0 after Ryan Tannehill completed 18-of-25 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown.

By contrast, Chargers quarterback Phil Rivers in the opening two quarters was 9-of-15 for 107 yards, an interception. He was hurried or buried on most dropbacks.

The discrepancy increased in the third quarter: more Tannehill precision and two more touchdown throws, and more Rivers poundings and blunders. Rivers passed for just 21 more yards before leaving late with a hand injury.

By game’s end, Miami outgained San Diego 441-178.

“The easiest way to say it is in all phases we got beat today,” Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said. “A number of turnovers on offence. Couldn’t stop them the first seven series of the game. Kicking game not good enough. All around, so I’ll leave it at that.”

Miami is now 5-3, tied with the Buffalo Bills for second place in the AFC East and, at the least, in the thick of the pursuit of a wild-card playoff berth.

San Diego is now 5-4 after that impressive 5-1 start.

After a much-needed bye this week, here’s the Chargers’ remaining schedule in November: at home against Oakland and St. Louis, and at Baltimore. They’d better win those games, because here’s December: at home against New England and Denver, and at San Francisco and Kansas City.